Do you know how to use a few, a few, a little, and very little? Enhance your knowledge with the lesson given below and the grammar explanation to guide you better.

Look at these examples to see how these quantifiers are used with countable and uncountable nouns:

• I have a few books, so I have plenty to read.

• He has few books, so he often borrows from the library.

• We’ve got a little money left. Let’s grab a snack.

• We’ve got very little money left. We need to be careful!

Grammar explanation - Quantifiers

A few and a little (or a bit of) mean some, often implying that the amount is sufficient or more than expected. We use a few with plural nouns and a little or a bit of with uncountable nouns.

• I have a few options to choose from.

• We invited a few neighbours to the party.

• There’s a bit of sugar left.

• It will take a little patience.

We use few and very little to indicate a small amount, often suggesting that it is insufficient or less than expected. Few is for countable nouns, and very little is for uncountable nouns.

• Few students showed up for the class.

• There are few restaurants open late around here.

• We have very little time to finish the project.

• I have very little energy left.

Note that little can be used without very, but it sounds more formal and is less common.

• They had little hope of winning.

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